Method of and apparatus for making bales



g- 6, 1929- A. s. MACKENZIE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING BALBS Filed Jan. 8, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet gwuvntoz ail ouwarv Aug. 6, 1929. A. s. MACKENZIE 3,

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING BALES Filed Jan. 8, 1924 a Sheets-Sheet '2 gmwntoz fl. 5. Mackenz/e.

5 1929- 'A. s. MACKENZIE 1,723,245

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING BALES Filed Jan. 8, 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet- 3 gnvenf 01 i Mac/M2722 Elttoznup Patented Aug. 6, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALEXANDER S. MACKENZIE, 0 F HOUSTON, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR TO CLAYTON GIN COM- PRESS COMPANY, OF HOUSTON, TEXAS, A C(JBJLPOBATION OF TEXAS.

MTdS'IHOD 0F AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING BALES.

Application filed January 8, 1824. Serial No. 685,029.

This invention relates to a method. of and apparatus for unwinding tenuous fibrous and analogous materials, and, as afurther step, making it up into balls, rolls, or bales.

As here shown, the method and apparatus will be described and illustrated as applied to a bat of cotton, and specifically to what is known as a remnant bale of cotton,

In the baliiig of cottonin the usual cylindrical type of press, it not. infrequently happens that the tail end. of the bat coming from the condenser will not be suliicient to make afull or standard bale, and such remnant bales of cylindrical form must be taken from the press and worked into another bale. Some di'lticulty has been experienced in handling such remnant bales, and in working them into the press, for the hat, of which the bales are formed, is tenuous and will tear and separate under longitu dinal strain, so that much time and labor is necessary to utilize and these remnants.

By practicing the method and using the apparatus which I have invented, the 176111 nant bales may be very quickly and expe ditiously worked into the press without clanger of breaking the bat, and the invent-ion, as I have developed it, is such that itmay be readily attached to a cylindrical bale press without material modification or reconstruction of such press.

In order that the invention may be understood by those skilled in this art, I have shown, in the accompanying drawings, my attachment applied to a press of standard type, and in said drawings r Fig. 1. is a view of so much of a press and its associated parts as is necessary to illustrate my invention, with my attachment applied thereto,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view of a por tion of a press and a portion of my attachment to illustrate the manner of mounting the attachment on the press, and showing the drive mechanisms. v I

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 of a mechanical variation in the construct-ion.

Fig. 4 is a View in side elevation of my attachment.

Fig. 5 is a front view of the attachment shown in Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings by numbers,

like numbers indicating like parts in the put into the press several views, 10 denotes the baling press of any standard type capable of making a cylindrical layer bale, as, for example, a press The'press has further, as one of its aduno; an accumulator indicated generally by the numeral 11, and the construction and action of which need not be described, as it old in this art and forms no part of the present invention.

ldounted upon the press frame, in any suitable manner, are supporting bars 12 (see Figs. 1 and 2), the lower ends of these bars, which will be preferably formed of strap iron of proper weight and gauge, being secured in any suitable manner to the top of the press. The upper ends of the supports 12 are here shown as fastened to a suitable su iport, being here shown as fastened to the frame 13 of the accumulator.

Mounted upon these supports 12, so as to be shiftable from an upper to a lower position, are slide blocks 14, here shown as embracing the supports 12, and capable of beshifted from the lower full line position, shown in 1, to the upper dotted line position shown in that figure.

These blocks or slides 14 may be secured in upper or lower posit-ion in any suitable and registering apertures 16 in the supports 12. y p

The said slides 14 carry, in suitable bearings in their lower ends, a shaft 17 provided, at one end, with a gear 18, which gear meshes with an idler gear 19, here shown as mounted in a projection 20 extending from the slide 14. The idler 19, when the attachment is in the lower full line position shown in Figures 1 and 2, meshes with a gear 21 on the top roll of the press, so that, as the press is driven, the shaft 17 will, through this arrangement of gears, be rotated.

.of the conveyor 27.

Depending from the housing 22 and the shaft 17 is aframe composed of the bars 23, to the lower end of which bars is secured suitable bearings 24; in which is mounted a shaft 25. The shaft 25 and the shaft 17 are provided with driving sprockets 26 which engage and drive a conveyor 27 of the well known apron type, the details of which need not be gone into, as obviously they may be varied.

At the lower end of the conveyor frame is provided any suitable supporting foot 28, and the horizontally disposed side bars 29, with preferably the side walls 30 to form substantially a holding trough. The bars 29 are provided, at their ends, with journal hearings, in which is mounted a shaft 31 having sprocket wheels 32 which are connected by a suitable chain 33 with a driving sprocket 3 1 on the end of the shaft 25, so that as the shaft 25 is driven by the conveyor '27, which travels in the direction of the arrow (see Figure 4), the shaft 81 will be rotated. The shaft 31 carries a roll 35, said roll revolving in the direction of the arrow (Figure 4).

As shown in Figure l, the attachment de scribed may be manipulated in any suitable manner from its operative to its inoperative position, there being shown, in Figure 1, a counter balance 36 with pull rope 37 running over suitable pulleys, and connected at one end to the lower end of the attachment, so that it may be readily raised and lowered to and from its operative positions. It will be understood that when thrown to its inoperative position during the time that the press 10 is baling from the condenser, the slide 14: will be moved up out of the way, and the gears 19 and 21 thrown out of mesh. hen the attachment is to be utilized, it will be dropped to its full line position, there secured, with the gears in mesh, and be in position for handling a remnant bale. The remnant bale, conventionally indicated at 38 in Figure 1, will be dropped into the trough at the foot of the conveyor, such bale resting at one side of its vertical center upon the roller 35, and at the other side upon the upper run The end of the bat, when the conveyor is driven, will be carried upwardly over the end of the conveyor; led down into the press, and subjected to the baling action of the press rolls, it being understood that feed from the. condenser into the press will be stopped while the remnant is being fed in. The tendency of the conveyor 27 is, of course, to roll the remnant bale in the direction ofthe arrow shown in Figure 1, and the roller 35 tends also to roll the bale in the same direction and give an unwinding action to the bale. In other words, the bale is revolved and unwound by contact with the surface of the conveyor 27, and the roller 35, so that the bat is carried up the conveyor to the press, without any pull or breaking strain, and its continuity is preserved. Obviously, as the bale is unwound and grows smaller, it will simply settle down into the trough between the lower end of the conveyor, and the unwinding roller 35, until it is completely unwound, and the bat has passed into the press.

By following this method of supporting the bale upon the lower end of the conveyor and the cooperating roller, the bale is floated on these moving surfaces. and proper unwinding movement given to it, so that a comparatively heavy remnant may be unwound and fed to the press without danger of breaking the bat, and without the. necessity of the attention of the operator, after it has once been placed in position and the machine started.

It will be clearly obvious that a multitude of difierent means may be employed for carrying out the method herein disclosed; for example, the remnant bale can be mounted to rotate on axis arranged directly above the baling press and be rotated by hand or otherwise to cause the bat to unwind from the bale while it is guided into the press by hand, by conveyor, or by any other suitable means.

In Figure 3 a slight mechanical variation of the mounting of the attaclnnent is shown, and in this construction the supports 39 are shown as provided with strap members 40, suitably secured thereto, and forming between them a slideway for the journal box 41 of the upper conveyor shaft 12. The attachment will be movable from the lower full line position to the upper dotted line position shown in Fig.3 in the same manner asthe slide 14 of Fig. 2 is movable, and the pin 13 passing through aperture in the supports 39 and straps 40, will serve to. hold the attachment in either its operative or its inoperative position.

While I have shown a particular construction to illustrate my method and the apparatus for carrying out that method, it will be understood that variations which are simply equivalent mechanical expedients may be made without departing from the range of my invention.

I claim 1'. The method of unwinding tenuous fibrous material which consists in support ig the bulk so that it is bodily movable, positively rotating the bulk, and positively mov ing the material unwound from the bulk at substantially the same speed that it comes from said bulk.

2. The method of unwinding tenuous fibrous material from a mass made up of. cylindrical layers, which consists in supporting the mass solely at its circumference positively rotating the mass'about its axis, and positively moving the material unwound fronr the mass at substantially the same speed that it comes from said mass. 3. A winding and unwinding device comprising a supporting frame, a conveyor far ried by said frame, and a roller so disposed with respect to the conveyor to form with said conveyor a support adapted to engage the circumference of a bodily'movablc roll of material to support the same. v

4:. A winding and unwinding d vice (Milk prising a suitable supporting frame, a conveyor carried by said frame, means fordriving said conveyor, a roll support on said frame comprising aroll engaging roller, and a driving connect-ion from said conveyor mechanism positively to rotate said roller.

5. A winding and unwinding device comprising a suitable supporting frame, a conveyor carried by said frame, i means for driving said conveyor, a l'Oil'SllPPOl't on said frame comprising a roller to enga the roll at one side of its verticai axis, a driving connection from said convevm' mechanism positively to rotate said roller.

6. The combination of a marhine, a conveyor frame movable to and from a driving relation with respect to a n'ioving" machine element, a conveyor on said frame, means carried by said frame to engage the moving element of the machine and positively drive said conveyor, a roll support on said conT veyor comprising a roller, and means to drive said roller and rotate a roll.

7. The combination of a machine having a rotating element, a conveyor frame movable to and from an operative position with respect to said rotating element, a conveyor on said frame, conveyor driving means can gageable with the rotating element of the machine, a roll support on said frame comprising a rotary element engaging the roll, and means for driving said rotary ciement and rotating the roll. I

8. The combination with a machine having a rotating gear, a conveyor frame mov able from an operative to an inoperative position with respect to saidgear, a conveyor on said frame, gear mechanism engageabie with the rotating gear on said machine, a roll support on said frame comprising a rotary element engaging the roll, and means for driving said rotary element and rotating the roll.

9. The combination of a machine having a rotary gear element, of a conveyor frame mounted on said machine and movable from an operative to an inoperative position with respect to said gear element, means for securing said frame in either i s operative or inoperative position, a conveyor on said frame, gear mechanism engageable with the gear element on said machine to drive said conveyor, a roll support on said frame comprising a roll engaging roller, and means to drive said roller and rotate the roll,

10. The combination of a machine having I a rotary gear element, substantially vertical supports mounted on said machine, a conveyor frame slidable on said support to operative and inoperative positions with respect to said rotary gear element, means for securing said frame in either its operative or inoperative position, gear niechanism carried by said frame and engageable with said rotary gear element, a conveyor on said frame driven by sait gear mechanism, a roll support at the lower end of said frame comprising a roll engaging roller so disposed as to support a roll between it and the lower end of said conveyor to rotate the roll, and a driving connei'aion from said conveyor to said roller positively to rotate said roller.

11. The combination of a machine having a rotary gear element, substantially vertical su ii iioits carried by said machine, a conveyor frame, frame supporting means slidabie on said supports, a pivotal connection between said supporting means and said frame, inimis for securing said frame in either position of adjustment on said support, a conveyor on said frame, gear mechai in for driving said conveyor engageable in one position, or the frame with said rotary gear element, roll supporting means at the end of said frame comprising a roller so disposed with reference to said conveyor as to support a roll between them, and means for positively driving said roller and rotating the roll.

12. The combination of a machine having a rotary gear element, substantially vertical supports mounted on said machine, journal blocks slidable on said supports, means for seeming said blocks in their different positions of adjustment, a conveyor drive shaft mounted in said journal blocks, a gear keyed to said shaft, an idler gear below and mesh,- ing with said conveyor gear and engageable ,with the gear element of the machine when the frame is in operative position, a con veyor mounted on said frame, a roll support at the end of said f 'ame comprising a roller so disposed with respect to said conveyor to support a roll between them, and a driving connection from said conveyor to said roller positively to rotate the roll and draw off therefrom without breaking strain a fibrous layer.

13. A machine attachment comprising a frame, a conveyor on said frame, a roll engaging roller on said frame so disposed with respect to said conveyor as to form with said conveyor a roll support, means for driving said roller to rotate the roll, and means for driving said conveyor positively to move material drawn from or fed to the roll without breaking strain thereon.

14;. An unwinding and Winding device for a mass of tenuous fibrous material comprising conveyor frame, a conveyor thereon, a roller disposed with respect to said conveyor as to form with said conveyor a mass su) ort means for Jositivel 1 drivin said 7 C roller to rotate the mass, and means positively to move the material drawn from or fed to the mass Without breaking strain thereon.

15. A device of the class described comprising movable frame, a conveyor carried by said frame, means for driving said 0011- upon both the conveyor and said slatted roller, and means for positively rotating said roller.

17. A device of the class described comprising a frame, a conveyor carried by said frame, means for driving said conveyor, an

angular extension on said frame, and a rotary element journaled on said extension and arranged with respect to said conveyor to support. a bodily movable roll of material upon both the conveyor and rotating element. g

18. A device of the class described comprising a conveyor frame pivotally mounted at one end and adapted to be supported in one of its positions in inclined relation to the door, a conveyor carried by said frame, an angular extension on said frame arranged substantially horizontally With respect to the floor when the conveyor frame assumes said inclined position, and a rotary elem nt on said extension so disposed with respect to said conveyor to support a bodily movable roll of material upon both the convcyor and rotary element.

19. A device of the class described com pr ing an inclined conveyor, means for driving the same, and means arranged at the lower end of said conveyor in such position as to cooperate with said conveyor in forming a support for abodily movable roll of material.

20. A device of the class described comprising an inclined conveyor, means for driving the same, and movable means arranged at the lower end of said conveyor in such position as to cooperate with said conveyor in forming a support for a bodily movable roll of material.

21. A device of the class described comprising an inclined conveyor, means for driving the same, and a roller arranged at the lower end of said conveyor in such position as to cooperate with said conveyor in forming a support for a bodily movable roll of material.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

ALEXANDER S. MACKENZIE. 

